Saints Row 2: Ultor Exposed

OK, if you forget to avoid said missiles in time the climax can be a pain in the 36 double-Ds. But even if you're playing the game with your feet you'll eke no more than an hour out of Ultor Exposed's missions. It's little more than pointless fluff on the end of an already uninspiring campaign, where dire combat and lemming-like enemy AI conspire to make large portions of the game truly forgettable.

As with the original, there's no question that the most fun to be had in Saints Row is engaging in the many activities found scattered across the map - not to mention the diversions built into almost every square inch of the game. Shame none of this applies to Ultor Exposed, however, as Volition opted to not add any new mini-game content this time.

Elsewhere, the new competitive co-op mode is an interesting addition - assuming you have the inclination and the opportunity to play the missions through again with a companion. As you kill members and destroy vehicles during missions you'll accrue points, with extra ones for getting headshots and so on. When the mission ends, the player with the most points gets a cash bonus.

All well and good, but this mode is near enough useless to anyone who's already played the game - which will be almost everyone buying this. A minority of players will be coming to Saints Row 2 fresh, having just bought the game and the DLC, and to them it might be of interest. Real obsessives might welcome the challenge to pit themselves against like-minded obsessives - but again, they're likely to be in the minority.

So what else does Ultor Exposed have to offer? New clothing options are hardly headline material, nor are ten new hairstyles. Of far greater interest are the six new vehicles. These include the EDF Scout vehicle, complete with roof-mounted multi-rocket Annihilator, the Vulture chopper and AB the Destroyer aircraft. Then there's the crazy three-wheeled Pulse, Stallion racing car and super slick Temptress car. Fun, sure, but only of use for general sandbox play.

And finally, there are a bunch of multiplayer maps for the online community to play with. Two each for gangbang/team gangbang and the rather appealing Strongarm mode. At present, it's hard to even get a match going to test them out. Unless you're able to schedule matches within your own community, you'll struggle to get any kind of online play going.

As always with DLC reviews, the question of value for money creeps into the equation. There's no doubt that Saints Row 2: Ultor Exposed falls down badly here. With three uninspired and ludicrously short missions forming the meat of the package, it's a huge let-down. The other elements are only worth it if you haven't already played the game extensively.